Monday, July 8, 2019

COMPLETE LIST OF ALL THE SHORT FILMS SCREENING!




RUN TIME: 0:17:30
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
After a break-up Chelsea decides to start over in a new house. Longing for quiet and solitude, she soon realizes she will get neither here.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  ARTIFICIAL
STATUS: [GEORGIA FESTIVAL PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:06:19
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
An engineer creates the perfect companion but a single decision threatens to ruin everything she has built. This is the 3rd music video from award-winning composer David Rosen's 3rd album Head Like Fire. It is based off an idea David Rosen had while making the song and was produced by Outtatime Films and directed by Ben Yonker.
Special Thanks to Nine Irish Brothers
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  BETA
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:19:24
GENRE: FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @8:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Captivated..., Alone... a young woman finds herself in a cold cellar room without any recollection how she got there. Two men alone with her. Both captors try everything to get information from her. Are these men her kidnappers or is there any other reason why she is held captive? (What does she know?)
BETA is an Action Shortfilm with a strong female protagonist created by Annika Kähler and Kai Erfurt. A no Budget Project supported by many german filmmakers.
SPECIAL NOTES:

 
TITLE:  BITCH, POPCORN & BLOOD
RUN TIME: 0:15:59
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @12P
SYNOPSIS:
At Salt’ n Sugar, a popcorn bar in the middle of nowhere, LILY a bored waitress, is going to turn her life around when two fishy strangers show up in the bar.
A mix of onirism, violence and dark humor, Bitch, Popcorn & Blood is simply the weapon that everyone has dreamt of being one day.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  BLAKEMOORE
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:44:22
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @2:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A mysterious drifter with explainable abilities, befriends simone Summerton a Young nurse who witness' a supernatural event. together the two travel space and time facing off against strange and malevolent beings.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  BLOSSOM
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:08:06
GENRE: EXPERIMENTAL/AVANT GARDE
SCREENING TIME: AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
"He said that he would dance with me if I brought him red roses,' 'but in all my garden there is no red rose.'
Bride at The Nightingale, Rose will be ready for any sacrifice to dance with Bluebeard ...
(Freely adapted from the tale: The Nightingale and The Rose by Oscar Wilde)
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  BOO
RUN TIME: 0:15:00
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A traumatic event forces a recovering addict to face her demons, without her worried fiancé uncovering the truth. Over the course of a rough night, Devi, 7 years sober, must make a difficult choice between WHO she loves and WHAT she loves.
SPECIAL NOTES:

 
TITLE:  BUNKER
STATUS: [WORLD PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:11:48
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @3:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A soldier wakes up with amnesia in a sealed military bunker unsure of where he is or how he got there. A video and a mouse provide helpful clues, but it quickly becomes a race against time to escape before running out of oxygen.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  CAPTAIN KINESIS
RUN TIME: 0:10:52
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:30PM
SYNOPSIS:
Sebastián is a retired superhero who lives alone in a small flat. He leads a quiet life and it's ages since he last used his superpowers, but an unexpected visit puts his world at risk and he Will forced to defend it.





TITLE:  CATATONIA
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:15:47
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @3:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
CATATONIA is a Short Film about a psychologist (Dr. Parker) who attempts to help a patient using an unconventional approach.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  COMPLIANCE
RUN TIME: 0:09:57
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @3:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
In a severely overpopulated world, a father and son have ten minutes to decide who lives and who dies between them.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  CONDUIT, THE
RUN TIME: 0:26:41
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
When a man named Andrew goes to sleep, a portal opens between our dimension and another one that's deep, dark, and filled to the brim with monsters. Andrew becomes the Conduit for these creatures and will use everything in his power to stop them from crossing the void.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  CONVERSATION WITH A CIGARETTE
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:18:00
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A cat and mouse game ensues when a man faces his greatest enemy: A Cigarette.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  DEAD BODIES BELOW THE FLOOR
RUN TIME: 0:38:15
GENRE: ANIMATION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @2:45PM
SYNOPSIS:
Charlie Shoemaker is a strange guy:
whenever he looks in the mirror, his face deformes.
No wonder, you see Charlie believes that at the age of nine, he was abducted by the Mindbending Cradle Snatchers of Planet Nibiru.
And Charlie hears voices that he considers to be the thoughts of his fellow men.
He warns everyone who doesn´t want to hear it about the gigantic insectoid extraterrestrials that he now sees sneaking around everywhere.
THEY are going to take over the world says Charlie … and while he says so,
he starts to arm himself.
Now Charlie is ready: he just doesn’t know what for … 
SPECIAL NOTES:
Website: http://fuckedupatalltimes.com/

TITLE:  DEAD FLOWERS
STATUS: [WORLD PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:27:27
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 - SCREENING ROOM #2
SYNOPSIS:
After attending a strange ceremony in the woods, a woman becomes possessed by a demonic force.


Starring Joshua Haire, Whitney Sullins, Betsy Mitchell, Dave R. Watkins with Rusty Smith and Patrick Lemon



TITLE:  DEAD WINTER
RUN TIME: 0:15:35
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
AUDREY, a young Hispanic woman living in what's left of the American south, spends every day of her life fighting for her family. Her sister, LEAH, is now only a remnant of what she used to be, and her grandmother, SOPHIA, wants nothing more than for her granddaughter to move on and try to have a better life.
But, Audrey can't and won't imagine any other life for herself. She is focused solely on caring for the only people she has left in the world, whether it's by hunting for food, hauling water, chopping wood -- or making difficult decisions.
In the end, Audrey is left with only one option to truly care for her family -- and she has to take it.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  DEEP DIVE
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:06:06
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
In the near future, everyone sees the city through their own set of augmented reality contact lenses. Through these digital screens, it is possible for them to curate their experience of the world, - just like an online network bubble that has become part of the physical world. Here a young Persian refugee arrives at the border of Los Angeles and is given a mandatory set of government-issued immigrant transition AR lenses. Shut out of other people’s reality she slowly descends into a new form of digital alienation.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  DELIVERY, THE
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:07:12
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @1:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
Things take a turn when Tyler orders a pizza.







TITLE:  DODAH
RUN TIME: 0:06:20
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
After taking advantage of a drunk woman, a man finds himself being stalked by a mysterious creature that won't let him leave her house.






TITLE:  DR. FRIDAY
RUN TIME: 0:12:24
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @3:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
An exiled, junior reporter investigates the disappearance of a classmate after a supernatural venom is re-birthed within his town.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  ELI’S CURE 2075
RUN TIME: 0:26:36
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
It’s 2075 and the Anti-Aging Revolution is finally over, thanks to a deadly disease that has wiped out half the world’s population. Instead of survival of the fittest, only the wealthy can afford the expensive drugs and cyber parts necessary to prolong life and remain immune from the disease. When research scientists Eli and X are kidnapped and forced to work at a sinister pharmaceutical company, they find themselves in a race against time to formulate a cure or be killed. Realizing their captors, The White Coats, have no intention of saving the rest of the world, Eli and X must rely on their own intelligence, artificial intelligence, and a little help from their friends to see if their efforts will be enough to save mankind.

TITLE:  ESCAPE ROOM
RUN TIME: 0:17:14
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @1:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
"Escape Room" is an award winning film (best screenplay, best editing, nominated for best film, best music score and best acting) about a brilliant student who is bullied in high school and suffers from OCD reluctantly joins her popular friends at a horror-themed Escape Room game. When the group realizes that a revenge-seeking Game Master has set them up in a custom-made deadly trap, the five teenagers start turning on each other. They have to join forces in order to get out of the room alive. The theme involves love, trust, teen issues and the importance of friendship. It is our hope to inspire audiences to pursue the idea of standing up for one another when confronted with adversities caused by a valued one.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  EXPEND
RUN TIME: 0:03:50
GENRE: ANIMATION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS: A stop-motion film about a man’s endless hunt for elusive energy sources in a decaying world.







TITLE:  EXTREMELY FLAWED DETECTIVE
RUN TIME: 0:02:49
GENRE: ANIMATION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
The year is 1993 and Big City's hardest working cop, Detective Hank Jenkins, is hot on the trail of a notorious street criminal. The situation takes a turn for the worse when the high-stakes arrest is interrupted by John Nader, a clumsy Traffic Officer.

TITLE:  FACE SWAP
RUN TIME: 0:05:01
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION      
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @3:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Featuring two internationally recognized A-list movie stars, FACE SWAP makes first-of-its-kind use of controversial machine-learning algorithms to deliver a cautionary tale about where our society is headed.
A guy convinces his wife to try out a new A.I. technology to spice up their sex life, but he ends up getting a bit more spice than he bargained for.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  FEMINIZE ME
RUN TIME: 0:04:15
GENRE: EXPERIMENTAL/AVANT GARDE
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
A vivid dream of trans-feminine sexuality bleeds into reality.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  FILTH
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:14:45
GENRE: ANIMATION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @10:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Bloodied, bruised and left for dead a man will stop at nothing to exact gruesome revenge on those who wronged him. Aggressive, raw and unrelenting FILTH establishes a new high water mark from director Adam Ciolfi.
SPECIAL NOTES:
*Not Suitable for Young Audiences Due to Extreme Violence & Gore.

TITLE:  FINLEY
RUN TIME: 0:25:25
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:30PM
SYNOPSIS:
"Finley" is a cheerfully energetic horror short following the shenanigans of a wooden puppet as he tries to kill a group of college kids who have moved into his house.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  FIVE COURSE MEAL
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:06:00
GENRE: FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL (HORROR)
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @8:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Mark and Jenny agree to take part in a mysterious experiment for money. Things get exceptionally messy.
Based on the short story by Josh Saltzman:
https://www.wattpad.com/86624898-strange-yarns-five-course-meal
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  GALACTIC LINEAGE
RUN TIME: 0:10:15
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @2:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Galactic Lineage Short Film (2018) 
One man discovers his alien lineage and must mate with an extraterrestrial creature to unite a galactic kingdom and save the universe. 





TITLE:  GUESTIA
RUN TIME: 0:14:00
GENRE: STUDENT SHORT FILM
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @8:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
José Antonio lives an apparently dull and normal life if it weren't for the fact that he spends his nights walking along the forest in the company of the deceased people of the town. He is the mortal guide of the Holy Company of San Miguel de Sotomonte, and tonight, the night in which he'll try to put an end to his curse.

TITLE:  HAUNTING THE HAUNTED
RUN TIME: 0:06:05
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
The crew of a haunted house try to find a teenage trouble making ghost, even though they're not sure if she'll talk their ears off or rip their limbs off.

TITLE:  HELLO
RUN TIME: 0:17:43
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A woman home alone gets a knock at the door that brings terror to her night.







TITLE:  I CONFESS
RUN TIME: 0:06:00
GENRE: FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @8:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Carmen, a woman of the 50s, feels lost. After forty years of marriage, she needs to silence the remorse she have been in since her husband suffered a heart attack. Without his hittings and beatings, how does she know if she is still a good Christian?

TITLE:  KELPIE
RUN TIME: 0:03:41
GENRE: ANIMATION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
A young shepherd boy frees a panicked, trapped horse, only to find out why it was shackled in the first place.
SPECIAL NOTES:




TITLE:  KING OF THE HOUSE
RUN TIME: 0:10:45
GENRE: ANIMATION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
A delusional man lives alone in a small dark house, believing that he is the king of the world and his supremacy is secure. However, his sovereignty is shaken by the arrival of a stranger. Little by little, this intruder occupies his living space, forces him to face his inner fears, cowardice and inferiority. Eventually, he realizes the great king he conjured in his tiny kingdom, is nothing but a pitiful tramp to the rest of the world.
SPECIAL NOTES:

RUN TIME: 0:05:00
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @4:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
While waiting for her husband to come home, a woman searches for the source of a mysterious knock.






TITLE:  LE CLICHE
RUN TIME: 0:08:33
GENRE: FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @8:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A short film about a dead man's daughter and step daughter running for their own inheritance
SPECIAL NOTES:




TITLE:  LIGHT OF DEATH, THE
RUN TIME: 0:07:22
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:30PM
SYNOPSIS:
A grandfather fights to protect his family from an old enemy.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  LION AND THE MOUSE, THE
STATUS: [WORLD PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:06:21
GENRE: ANIMATION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @1:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Classic Aesop Fable - Liandros was a very prideful Lion and in his mind for some very good reasons. He was young, fast, and powerful. A true king of the jungle. This story tells the tale of the interactions between is powerful lion and a small mouse that crosses his path. 
Always remember my giant, powerful, scary, friend that 
A kindness is never wasted. 

TITLE:  LUMBER BARON’S BIGFOOT HUNTIN’ CLUB
RUN TIME: 0:30:00
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
As the Lumber Baron and his gang investigate Bigfoot sightings in the woods, with help from a "specialist" and some eyewitnesses, they soon find themselves in danger.
SPECIAL NOTES:


TITLE:  MOTHER
RUN TIME: 0:10:07
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @10:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
MOTHER (2019) is an experimental short film in homage to one of the most influential female avant-garde filmmakers, Maya Deren. Featuring a dream-like narrative of a woman trapped within a fantasy and confronted by various versions of herself.




TITLE:  NOT ALONE
RUN TIME: 0:10:28
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @1:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
Claire investigates strange paranormal events in her home 
only to discover a sinister entity that's all too familiar.
SPECIAL NOTES:




TITLE:  OPHELIA
STATUS: [US PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:12:57
GENRE: EXPERIMENTAL/AVANT GARDE
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
At night, a woman at different ages loves, suffers and frees herself. She's called Ophelia. 
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  PRENATAL
RUN TIME: 0:10:37
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Mysteriously eight months pregnant overnight, Katie believes the Angels responsible, but her sister thinks differently.






TITLE:  PROGRESS, THE
RUN TIME: 0:10:12
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A story about differing perception/perspectives of what is good and what is evil. How everything happens by the choices we make but can be blinded by pride or ignorance for the consequences of our actions. When faced with the reality of the outcomes we then realise we have to take responsibility for our actions. This project tells this story through a socio/political/religious theme set within a science fiction genre.



TITLE:  PSALM OF SIGHT, A – VERSE 1: ZERFALL
RUN TIME: 0:14:53
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @10:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Gifted with eternal life after drinking from the Holy Grail, a medieval knight spawns an alternate history where technology is God, and man is machine.
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  REAR VIEW
RUN TIME: 0:02:20
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @1:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
One late night Dan walks out to his car and is greeted by a ghostly visitor.

TITLE:  RED SCARE
RUN TIME: 0:16:36
GENRE: EXPERIMENTAL/AVANT GARDE
SCREENING TIME:  SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
A pastiche of horrors piecing together 50 years of the U.S.'s paranoid fear of the rise of communism in Mexico, this video mixes footage from the 1989 film, Rojo Amanecer's depictions of the 1968 Tlatelolco Masacre in Mexico City, as well as recently under-reported news footage of U.S. Border Patrol murders of Mexican youth on the Mexican side of the border. This video-mix also includes images of uprisings for equality in Mexico surrounding the Mexican Gasoline Crisis set against forensic animations and 3D reenactments of the Ayotzinapa, Iguala disappearances of 43 peasant students activists in 2014. A backdrop of found video game footage and archival animation are set throughout to a mixtape called igualallaqueaqui by visual artist and queer-goth rapper luigi aka Jose Luis Benavides.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  S
RUN TIME: 0:29:02
GENRE: FOREIGN/INTERNATIONAL
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @6:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Mary, a recent graduate, travels to Spain for an internship at a mental hospital. In addition to facing the difficulties of living in a foreign country, she will meet the first patient she must treat. This will affect her in a way she hadn't expected.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  SAMANTHA
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:05:55
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @12P
SYNOPSIS:
A mysterious place in a dark city is where this legend begins. The coldness of the humid walls embrace the environment of a novel writer. Long hours of work constantly maintain Frank focused on his next piece of art, his next great novel. An unexpected visit cause his worn hands become the owners of the novel.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  SATURN THROUGH THE TELESCOPE
RUN TIME: 0:10:53
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:30PM
SYNOPSIS:
Max is a ten-year-old boy obsessed with insects, telescopes and monsters. One night he decides to escape from his bed to watch a terror film in the TV. Surprised by his mother, he is returned to his bedroom. However, he is fascinated by the images he has seen, but they will give him nightmares.




TITLE:  SEVEN DAYS CAGE
RUN TIME: 0:31:26
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @8:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
The story tells the story of Li Ran, an artificial intelligence scientist, who suddenly woke up one day and was imprisoned in an unknown Pink room with a TV set showing his suicide and various weird sculptures. Every 15 minutes, he suffered intense pain and was rebounded. He tried all kinds of ways to escape from the room but failed repeatedly. After countless failures, he felt hopeless. At this time, he accidentally touched the button of the TV, and there was another him in the picture. He told himself an amazing truth...

TITLE:  SILENT PLACE, A
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:04:30
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @4:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
A Silent Place is a loving homage to "A Quiet Place". The film follows two survivors who have locked themselves in a basement for survival from a deadly force which hunt by sound.




TITLE:  SONGBIRD
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:14:06
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @2:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
Shy singer Jennifer thinks her dreams are coming true when a music producer approaches her at an open mic night. But her hopes are dashed after an encounter with a mysterious old woman leaves Jennifer without a voice.
After some research, Jennifer discovers the presence of magic in the world, and sets off on a journey to retrieve her stolen voice from a foreboding place known as 'Blackmoor Woods'. Can Jennifer find her courage as well as her voice before her future is taken from her forever?
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  SQUATTER’S LAST RIGHTS
RUN TIME: 0:07:58
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @4:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
A couple illegally staying in a deceased woman's home begin hearing strange noises in the middle of the night.






TITLE:  STILL
RUN TIME: 0:17:02
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @4:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
When Craig starts suffering from episodes of Sleep Paralysis, he becomes a helpless prisoner in his own still body. 
Is this just a medical condition or is something more nefarious at work?
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  TOGETHER AGAIN
RUN TIME: 0:08:51
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @4:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
Joan is struggling to cope after the recent death of her husband Ben. During one sleepless night she sees Ben who warns her about a monster in the closet.






TITLE:  TOXIC BETRAYAL
RUN TIME: 0:29:45
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @1:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
Six months have passed since big game hunter Jack Peterson went boar hunting on a remote Louisiana island and barely escaped with his life. Struggling with post traumatic stress disorder, he’s haunted by memories of a shape-shifting creature known as Spikes, who tried to kill him and paranormal investigator Penelope Whistlestoff. Just as Jack thinks he’s losing his sanity, Spikes appears and unravels dark secrets about a nearby chemical company blamed for poisoning the island’s inhabitants. With mysterious deaths reported on the news and friends suddenly disappearing, Jack and Penelope have no choice but to return to the island and expose the chemical company for their monstrous actions. With Spikes organizing a small welcoming party, will they know who the real monsters are this time? 

TITLE:  TRACES OF ELIZA
RUN TIME: 0:20:00
GENRE: EXPERIMENTAL/AVANT GARDE
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
From Director Carlos G Sanchez comes a film like you've never seen. Please be prepared for a wild ride. Samantha (Samantha Verheyen) is just a young American girl who lives care-free, but when the stresses of life, work, relationships and anxiety break her down; symptoms of a disorder begin to surface. The dark side of herself who she calls Eliza leaves behind a trail of blood and a shell of her former self. When lipstick leaves stains three kisses are all that remains.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  TROLL BRIDGE
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:15:54
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @2:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
An old barbarian and his talking horse embark on a suicidal quest to battle a bridge troll.
Troll Bridge is live-action / hand animated hybrid, lovingly crafted from the Discworld fairy-tale by Sir Terry Pratchett.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  TWIG
RUN TIME: 0:05:01
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @1:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
A young woman searches the unknown for her lost sister.







TITLE:  VIRTUALLY
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:20:21
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SATURDAY, AUGUST 3 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @12:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
A woman struggling to survive alone in a post-apocalyptic wasteland discovers a virtual-reality machine and escapes from her loneliness into a scenic virtual world. When she falls in love with a man inside this virtual world, she must choose between her love and her life in this romantic science fiction short film.
SPECIAL NOTES:

TITLE:  WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:13:20
GENRE: SCIENCE FICTION
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @3:00PM
SYNOPSIS:
An unhappily married couple make a life changing discovery in their kitchen one day.
SPECIAL NOTES:


TITLE:  WHO LET THE TAXIDERMY OUT?
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:08:33
GENRE: EXPERIMENTAL/AVANT GARDE
SCREENING TIME:  SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @11:30AM
SYNOPSIS:
A reformed taxidermist brings taxidermy animals back to life with chaotic consequences for an uninvited guest in this all-female silent film. This experimental kitsch comedy invites viewers to re-think what little girls are made of.
This film was produced in Houston, Texas, with an all-female cast and a 90% female crew and post-production team. This is the director's first short film of more than 60 seconds. It was conceived as her thesis project for her MFA in Film at the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

TITLE:  WISH & THE WISP, THE
RUN TIME: 0:15:23
GENRE: FANTASY
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #1 @4:30PM
SYNOPSIS:
Two bickering siblings learn the true value of friendship and the magic of believing, when they find a real wish and encounter the menacing creature who wants it back!​
SPECIAL NOTES:



TITLE:  WITCHES OF THE WATCH, THE
STATUS: [GEORGIA PREMIERE]
RUN TIME: 0:15:46
GENRE: HORROR
SCREENING TIME: SUNDAY, AUGUST 4 – SCREENING ROOM #2 @1:15PM
SYNOPSIS:
A single mom and her daughter move to a neighborhood home to a coven of housewife witches.
SPECIAL NOTES:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewitchesofthewatchmovie/?modal=admin_todo_tour

Friday, November 9, 2018

SWFF Gets Ready for 2019!



2019 is going to be a big year for Something Wicked Film Festival (www.somethingwickedfilmfestival.com)!  First, we’d like to thank film-maker and graphic designer Byron C. Erwin for once again designing our festival poster for the forth year in a row.  If you’ve kept up with what he’s crafted over the years, you’ll love what he’s done for us this year.  Erwin has been a huge supporter of our festival and we hope he continues his involvement for the future.

Second, Laura Blatterman, our Outreach Manager, is responsible for implementing our “Zacky the Zombie Young Creator Award” for student film-makers.  All student film-makers who submit their films will be eligible for this special award to promote the accomplishments of our next generation of film-makers so be on the lookout for more info on this soon.

Third, we are also in the early stages of offering script reading services so that screenwriters get the opportunity to get comprehensive notes for their work prior to submitting their scrips to competition or going into pre-production on their films.

Forth, Submissions Open November 16, 2018!  We hope to see lots of great shorts and features this year from all over the world.  You can submit your films through Film Freeway (https://filmfreeway.com/somethingwickedfilmfestival).

These are just a few of the things we are doing to improve our festival for next year.  Here at Something Wicked we want to continue helping independent film-makers produce their films and get them out to audiences. 

Monday, October 1, 2018

2018 Something Wicked FF Award Winners!

We must apologize for not getting all this info out sooner but we wanted everyone to know all the Award Winners for this year's Event!  This includes not only the "Main Competition" Award Winners but the "Festival Director" and "Audience Choice" Award Winners.  We would like to thank all the film-makers that submitted films this year and we wish all of the films a successful festival run.

Everyone here at SWFF look forward to seeing what is unleashed for us next year!





Thursday, September 6, 2018

Lynn Lowry: A Lifetime of Appreciation


As part of Something Wicked Film Festival’s continuing goal to promote independent film-makers and promote independent films, this year’s event marks the first year we added something new to the program which is the Lifetime Achievement Award.  With this award we hope to shed light on and acknowledge film-makers who have had a profound effect on the industry and who continue to inspire
a new generation of film-makers through their arts and craft.  This year we decided to honor actress Lynn Lowry for her exceptional contributions to the independent and mainstream film industry.


Lowry is most famous for her early roles in David Cronenberg’s Shivers ((1975), George A. Romero’s The Crazies (1973) and Paul Schrader’s (underrated) Cat People (1982).  Some of her other films include Sugar Cookies (1973), Compelling Evidence (1995), Beyond the Dunwich Horror (2008), Schism (2008), and Spirit (2010), to name a few. 

For the feature Schism she also contributed the Story and was producer showing her progression from actress to writer and producer. She was also producer on the short films The Whole Town’s Sleeping (2014) and executive producer for Volumes of Blood (2015).  The short The Who Town is Sleeping also marks her debut behind the camera as director and she has contributed “Story” credit to the upcoming short films First Impressions Can Kill and Espresso to Die For.

As you can see, Lowry has maintained a presence in the mainstream and indie film worlds and continues to do so in her almost fifty years in the industry.  For this reason, we wanted to honor this accomplished film-maker with our first Lifetime Achievement Award.


Unfortunately, Lowry was unable to make it for this year’s event as she spends her time, when not ma  This wasn’t a problem as she allowed us permission to screen one of her more recent short films The Peripheral (2014) in which she stars as Dr. Redding, a psychologist whose patient believes that monsters that he can see in his peripheral vision are out to get him.  This is a very focused and suspenseful thriller in which Lowry continues to show why she is a talented actress.  The film ended up taking home the Festival Director’s Award for “Scariest Film” and “Most Memorable Villain.”  We hope you get a chance to see this amazing short film!
king films, making appearances at various conventions and other film festivals.

Below is the image of the Award that was given to Lowry and signed by all the SWFF family members and here is a link to watch the video of Festival Director Kevin L. Powers given the award out during the Opening Night Ceremony - https://vimeo.com/286702177  We hope to continue in this tradition of honoring important film-makers each year and stay tuned for more info about the SWFF soon!

Saturday, August 25, 2018

Meet the 2018 SWFF Jury!


We would like to introduce you to the amazing men and women who made up this year’s Jury Members.  At the head of this year’s event sat Kevin L. Powers as the Festival Judge and underneath him was a group of dedicated film-makers and film lovers who judged all the submissions and helped decide what was to be screened this year and what films deserved to be nominated for awards.  They had a hard task to dwindle down the huge list of amazing shorts and features from all over the world from animation to fantasy, from horror to science fiction, and experimental to non-fiction.  It was a monumental task for which we at Something Wicked FF are entirely grateful.

Anne McCarthy
ANNE McCARTHY
A writer/producer/director of short films whose films Movie Night and Monster in the Wash (both 2014) screened at Something Wicked Film Festival from previous years.  Although now living in California she is originally from Georgia and got her start in live theater before moving and focusing on film work.








Dave R. Watkins
DAVE R. WATKINS
Dave R. Watkins is a Georgia based Director, Producer, Writer & Actor. He directs and starts in the Comedy Web Series "Lumber Baron of Jasper County" and he is producing and directing a new Psychological Thriller series called "Herman Jones". He also directed the feature length movies "Stragglers" and the "Return of the Jackalope" and starred in the Lions Gate release of Jack O'Lantern. 
https://www.facebook.com/HermanJonesTheSeries/





David Young
DAVID YOUNG
David Young first discovered his passion for film while he attended high school in a small town in Virginia. Devouring classics by Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Ridley Scott and many more, he decided to enroll in the New York Film Academy's filmmaking program upon graduation in 2005. There, he received a crash course in everything from directing to screenwriting to editing and even acting, all of which he put to use when co-founding a filmmakers' club in college. With an eventual BS in Computer Science and an additional formal training in audio recording and engineering, David moved to Atlanta to pursue a career in the entertainment industry in 2011. Since then, he has been working as a professional live sound engineer at multiple venues around the metro area. He has lent his services as a production sound mixer to recently-released feature film "Go Mad and Mark" which debuted at the Plaza Theater, and he continues to moonlight as a boom mic operator and sound editor/mixer as projects arise. 
Nate Hill



NATE HILL
Nate Hill lives in the Atlanta area and reads more horror novels and comics than could be considered healthy. He’s also the writer of the graphic novel “Giant Robot Warrior Maintenance Crew,” and the co-writer of the forthcoming online series “Herman Jones.” 








Chris Simoes
CHRIS SIMOES
Simoes is a film-maker based out of Georgia.  He is the writer/producer/director of the feature films Bigfoot: The Curse of Blood Mountain (2015), which screened at SWFF in a previous year, and most recently Halfway to Hell: The Movie (2018) which had a special World Festival Premiere this year.








Heather Place
HEATHER PLACE
Heather Place is a Charlotte-based, award winning Actor/Producer, member of SAG-AFTRA, Founding Member of Falling Tree Films, and Managing Partner of Four Leaf Features, LLC. Heather has worked as a professional actress for over 25 years in theatre, film, television and as a voice-over artist.
Some of Place's credits include, the cult favorite "Basketcase 3" and several independent films which have won awards on the festival circuit.  Some of her award winning "indies" include:  "Searching for Signals", "Winter's Tale", "Muted" and "We Three Kings". Heather also produced and acted in the short film, "Second Wind Storms McKenzie Farms", which won the award for "Best Short or Web Series" at the Georgia Entertainment Awards. She is currently in pre-production on two feature films: "Forgotten Word", a religious thriller, and “Alive and Kicking”, a Southern ensemble comedy set in an Assisted Living Center. Heather is part of the producing team for both projects and will play roles in both films.
Here's the link to Heather’s IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1239849/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 

Regina PArtee
REGINA PARTEE
Regina Partee is a graduate of Full Sail University with a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing, of Georgia State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Film, and a graduate of The New York Film Academy director’s certificate program.

Regina has written, produced and directed several short films, a documentary, musical stage plays and a sketch comedy television show that ran for two seasons on a local station in Atlanta. She has also written multiple short films, feature films and television shows for multiple independent production companies.

Most recently, Regina developed the characters for the upcoming production “Coming of Age.” She has also added author to her title with her book, Bold Obedience, and is currently working a musical stage production.

Regina’s related work experience includes an internship at Rainforest Films as a script consultant, a script supervisor on a short film for Blank Stage Productions, and a screenwriting instructor for the Independent Black Film Festival in Atlanta.

Some of Regina’s accomplishments are: Best Sci-Fi Short (Goodnight Princess), Women in Film Atlanta Short Film Showcase 2015; Honorable mention (A Latte’ Love Story), Short Film Showcase 2013 for Women in Film Atlanta; Quarter-finalist, Creative Screenwriting Cyberspace Open Competition in 2009; Full Sail Course Director Award in Editing for Film, Games and Animation for Outstanding Script Coverage; Full Sail Course Director Award in Creative Writing Portfolio II for Outstanding Writing; and graduated with a 4.0 from Full Sail University. 

Regina is a member of Women in Film and Television Atlanta and Women in Film and Television International.


Joshua Haire
JOSHUA HAIRE
Joshua Haire has been acting in Atlanta for 8 years and has appeared in This Old Machine (2017), Murder Comes To Town (2018), Full Count (2018), 3am Live (2018), All Hallows Evil: Lord of the Harvest (2012), and most recently Herman Jones (which was the Opening Night film for this year’s festival), among many other titles. His love for the arts and craft of acting drive his passion for film and he is excited to be a judge this year!




Evan Avers



EVAN AVERS
Evan Avers is a graduate of Kennesaw State University with a BA in English. Evan is twenty-three years old and is a native of Gwinnett County. He works as a high school teacher and has a love for film of every sort. Evan is very excited for the opportunity to get to share in the art of so many wonderful filmmakers, and he hopes you'll find his feedback valuable.



Philip Wray
PHILIP WRAY
Philip Wray (Judge)- This is the first time Philip has been a part of the Something Wicked Film Festival but he is no stranger to film festivals. Philip served as a volunteer and volunteer chair for the Milledgeville Film Festival in 2014 and 2015. He also worked as a production assistant for the film, “Side Harm” that was submitted to the Atlanta Film Festival in 2015. He has also worked as an extra, production assistant, and assistant director for a couple of other short films and television pilots. When Philip isn’t judging, he mostly works as a freelance theater lighting designer and technician.


SAM WILSON
[No Bio at This Time.]



Special Thanks to Our Amazing Staff!


The Something Wicked Film Festival is a year in the making with a lot of hard working people dedicating their time and volunteering for the three days of the event.  As such, I know that a lot of the time these people go unrecognized, but they are the true backbone and grease that keeps the wheels of the festival spinning from year to year and therefore I’d like to take just a few moments to name some of the key players in the SWFF family.

Howard Carter
First off is my Co-Festival Director Howard Carter.  In addition to assisting me with the organization of the event Carter is the one responsible for the Opening Night Filmmaker reception.  I’m always so busy just getting the regular business stuff done and Carter is there to make sure all our Sponsors and Film-makers have a good time at the Opening Night Reception.    He also happens to make sure I keep my sanity throughout the year.








Travis Joseph
Next is our Festival Technical Supervisor Travis Joseph.  Even though he’s stepped down this year from being the main person responsible for all technical aspects of the festival, he remained on board to help us out on the Awards Ceremony and other things since he wasn’t available during the actual event this year.  He’s also been instrumental in helping us through the years with filming and editing many of the festival’s video content.






Ted Rubin
Ted Rubin is also a key member of our family.  For the last three years he has dedicated himself as the Website Designer for the film festival.  He’s been with us since the very beginning and has put his artistic talents on the pages of the website, so, we hope you enjoy.

Jim Adams









Jim Adams has been “unofficially” with us all three years and it wasn’t until this year that we gave him the title of Festival Panel Moderator.  The Panel Discussion are such a huge part of the SWFF experience that we’re ecstatic that Adams has joined us.


Byron C. Erwin
Byron C. Erwin (Graphic Designer) has also been a huge contributor to our SWFF as he has designed all three years of our amazing festival posters!  Each year he amazes all of us with his new designs that we use the entire year to advertise and promote our event.









Laura Blatterman
Last year we also added two more members to our team Tycoa Noble and Laura Blatterman, as our Festival Event Manager/Vendor Sales and Outreach Manager, respectfully.  We are glad to have them aboard as they will continue to help us grow year-by-year.






Whitney Black
I want to take a few moments to thank some of the people that are not part of our Main Team but are still just as important.  Our Red Carpet Host this year was Barbara Romero who was also one of our two Awards Ceremony Hosts this year; Whitney Black returned this year as our second Awards Ceremony Host (last year was her first year with us).  These actresses did an amazing job this year and we hope they’ll be back with us again.




Another major contribution to this year’s event is all the amazing people that made up this year’s Jury Members!  This included the film-makers Anne McCarthy, Dave R. Watkins, Phillip Wray, David Young, Nate Hill, Chris Simoes, Heather Place, Gina Partee, Joshua Haire, Evan Avers, and Sam Wilson.  This year’s Jury viewed an amazing number of submissions and were responsible for this year’s Award Recipients!  Without their help I would have had a lot of films to view on my own.

There are other volunteer and support staff that help us out each year and continue to make each year of SWFF better than the one before.  Without the help of everyone, SWFF would not be possible and I’m proud to include them as part of our growing family.  We hope that everyone enjoyed this year’s event and look forward to bringing you even more for 2019!

For more info about SWFF visit us at www.somethingwickedfilmfestival.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/somethingwickedfilmfestival/ and on Instagram @somethingwickedff or Twitter @SWFilmFestival1

Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Dave Watkins: The Man Behind HERMAN JONES!


HERMAN JONES is the latest production from Georgia film-maker Dave R. Watkins and the feature length version will be making its way to film festivals across the country!  If you haven’t already heard about this maverick film-maker then you just haven’t seen the various short films and features he’s produced, written, directed, or starred in for almost twenty years. Watkins got his start as an actor in suck low budget films as The Middle of Nowhere (2002) and Jack O’Lantern (2004) before writing and producing his first web series Witch Hunters Extraordinaire, a quirky comedy and fantasy series.  Following this, Watkins worked in front and behind the scenes on several short films before directing his first feature Stragglers (2004), which he also starred and provided the screenplay for.  This led to his participation in the feature Return of the Jackalope (2006).  Return of the Jackalope was slow to film an audience so Watkins continued to hone his craft as an actor, writer, producer, or director in a string of short films from the zombie films Dead Vengeance (2009) and Zombieween (2009) but also in other genres such as Garbage Day (2008), Have Me For Dinner (2008), and Second Chances (2009).  In this time, he also managed to be a part of a few notable films (but varying degrees of importance) such as Dance of the De  It was with this experience on these bigger productions that Watkins would use his talents to create his most popular and enduring characters The Lumber Baron in the web series The Lumber Baron of Jasper County (2011-Present).
ad (2008), Bad Land (2007), The Other Side (2006) and Hell’s End (2005).

The Lumber Baron web series and spin-off short films was created by Watkins and frequent collaborator Michael D. Friedman and tells the misadventures of a cast of colorful characters in a lumber yard.  The series is funny, and you never know what’s going to happen next.  The series stars Watkins and Friedman but also a “who’s who” of Georgia talent such as Candace Mabry, Grant Garlinghouse, J.R. Francis, Brandy Goins, Ashlee Heath, Chris Burns, Jacki Flynn, and many, many more.  Even though the initial web series has run its course, this long running series continues to keep on going through various holiday themed specials and other shorts.

It was with the success of this web series that Herman Jones was born.  A horror-thriller completely removed from the world of the Lumber Baron (although it stars many of the actors from that series), Herman Jones started off as a nine-episode web series before being fine tuned into the feature film it currently is.  I don’t want to give away too much or spoil anything, but Joshua Haire stars a Herman Jones, a recluse who lives in his sister Jennifer’s (Amber Erwin) basement and suffers from delusions of a Mr. Murk (Watkins) and others that talk to him with only some pills to keep them at bay.  As his relationship with his girlfriend Christy (Krissy Notes) depends his world starts to unravel allowing Mr. Murk to have an influence which leads to some harrowing revelations that Herman may not be ready to handle yet.


I was able to sit down and talk with Watkins about his new film right after it’s World Festival Premiere at Something Wicked Film Festival (www.somethingwickedfilmfestival.com).

SOMETHING WICKED: What was the inspiration for HERMAN JONES?
DAVE WATKINS: Several years back, co-writer Nate Hill sent me an outline for a story called “Herman Jones Cannibal Slayer” and the name "Herman Jones" called to me.  We ended up not using much of the original outline except for the Herman character and the idea of a Cannibal Cult.

SW: How was the writing process for this production as opposed to any of your previous ones?
DW: It was similar in that after thinking about it for some time I sat down and started typing out the episodes, and as I did the story and the characters started coming together and after a few weeks I had rough drafts for the episodes.   Most of the structure stayed the same after that but I would go back and forth with Nate on the drafts and we would continue to tweak the dialogue and flesh out some of the ideas and the characters.  Eventually Nate brought in Michael Van Cleve to look over the episode scripts and he had some terrific and honest notes that helped fix a few plot holes and character beats.

SW: What was one of the most difficult aspects of this production?
DW: Scheduling the shoots and finding the time to do them.  It ended up taking a lot longer to shoot than I had anticipated, I was used to shooting fast with the comedy web series "Lumber Baron of Jasper County", but this was a different animal.

SW: Why did you originally choose to make it a web series?
DW: I like the format from a writing standpoint.  There’s something about the structure of the episodes that makes sense to me, it lends a little creative freedom that a rigid structured movie script doesn't.  I used to watch a lot of movies but now I mostly watch television and writing a web series is like writing a TV show.

SW: Will there be a Season 2?
DW: I would love to do more, but I’m not sure at this point.  I have some ideas about where the story and characters would go next, but don’t have a strong grasp on it yet.  Season One was a huge time commitment and I hesitate to jump back into it, but on the other hand I am invested in these characters.



SW: Tell me a little about the casting for HERMAN JONES.
DW: After we had all the scripts in a good place, I reached out to Joshua Haire to play Herman.  After he took the role, with Josh's help we built the rest of the cast from people we've worked with before and/or wanted to work with.  We didn’t audition anyone and I took a few leaps of faith on casting some actors I'd never worked with before, luckily it all worked out well.  

SW: Do you prefer to use actors that you’ve worked with before?  Why?
DW: I do often cast people I've worked with before, but I also enjoy pulling new people into the mix.  It depends on the character, it's nice to have the peace of mind knowing that the actor is going to pull it off and be reliable.   Also, I must say, this cast was terrific.  Everyone clicked together, and they were invested in their characters and they were all right for the parts that they played, and they were also understanding of the conditions we had to shoot in.  It makes a directors' job a lot easier when you have that.  There's a lot of chemistry between the cast members and some of that has come from the ease of working with the same people before.

SW: Why did you decide to also star in the show? 
DW: I don't play Herman Jones so I'm not the star, but the character I play, Mr. Murk, is in it a significant amount.  Sometimes it helps me connect better with the story and the other actors, but in this case it was also about not having to schedule another actor for almost every shoot for a character who often only looms in the background.

SW: Tell me a little about the character you play in HERMON JONES.
DW: There's eventually more to it than this, but it's a shadowy figure that follows Herman around and only Herman can see and hear it.  Like an imaginary friend that has manifested itself into reality.

SW:  One final question, what’s next for you?
DW: I’m working on producing some more “Lumber Baron” comedy content and considering doing some horror shorts.

***
You can look for HERMAN JONES to come to film festivals everywhere and to learn more about this and other productions from Dave Watkins go to IMDB - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1482625/ or http://lumberbarontheseries.com/




SWFF 2022 "Best of the Festival" Screening!

On July 30th at 8:00 PM Something Wicked Film Festival with unveil their pick for the "Best of the Festival" films (not chosen by ...